DAILY NEWS & ADVICE FROM REALTY TIMES/03/04/08/Getting Real With Real Estate

One question which comes up with some frequency is why foreclosure numbers are so important. After all, isn't it a fact that foreclosures are actually rare when we look at the entire housing stock? According to the Census Bureau there were 128 million housing units in the U.S. at the end of 2007. Of these units, 75.2 million were owner-occupied. In comparison, says RealtyTrac.com, nearly 1.3 million households received one or more foreclosure notices during 2007.

	NEW JERSEY ESTATES Paul Stillwaggon & Pat Cornish 908-561-5492 March 2008 LINKING THE LATEST TECHNOLOGY TO OLD FASHIONED SERVICE Copyright © 2008 Realty Times All Rights Reserved. Daily News And Advice Updated 02:57 PM CST Today Today's Feature Stories New Homes: Kitchens for Our Times So you think you've got a put-together kitchen with a refrigerator, range, dishwasher and a microwave? Think again. FULL STORY-> Getting Real With Real Estate How do foreclosures impact the marketplace? Columnist Peter G. Miller looks at the reality of local home pricing. FULL STORY-> Time For A Major Homeowner Bailout? With some 9 million homeowners holding an incentive to dump their homes, a real homeowner bailout is beginning to look a lot better than what's in store otherwise. FULL STORY-> Realty Viewpoint: Financial Press Gushes Over Incomplete Case/Shiller Indices Standard & Poor's S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices are the "leading measure of U.S. home prices," S & P says in its press releases, and the press buys every word. FULL STORY-> Canada's Housing Boom has Lasted Almost 10 years Most analysts think the market peaked last year, but solid economic fundamentals mean the good times aren't over quite yet. FULL STORY-> What Politics in 2008 Can Teach our Industry about Confronting Change The Republican primary in the state of Michigan was held this past January and the way that the two leading candidates approached this primary provides a fascinating primer on how real estate will fare in the next few years, depending on our reaction to the systemic changes that confront us. FULL STORY-> Headlines Washington Report: HUD Unveils Proposed Changes to Mortgage Process Within days, the federal department of Housing and Urban Development plans to unveil sweeping proposed changes to the American mortgage application process and real estate settlement system. FULL STORY-> Wild, Wild West: Karma: California Foreclosures Outpace Sales Bankers who once pined to sell real estate are getting what they asked for but probably not in the way they imagined. Be careful what you wish for. FULL STORY-> Interest Rate Update Today's Interest Rates from Realty Times are based on a 30 year amortization rate, with good credit and no origination fees. With no major economic news to report, mortgage rates are stable. FULL STORY-> Realty Viewpoint: DOJ Nails Discriminating Seller And Agent According to the Department of Justice, a cheesy Milwaukee real estate agent and a seller conspired to prevent an African-American from buying the seller's home. They got slapped with a not-stiff-enough fine, but I wish somebody would slap these two idiots upside the head. FULL STORY-> Market Conditions: Southern Utah Local market experts for southern Utah, Rocky and Deborah Burt, say the area is getting hit by foreclosures, but on a smaller scale than the national average. FULL STORY-> Can We Get a Home Faster? Feb 29th script FULL STORY-> Qualifying the Buyer We invest large amounts of time with buyers. There is nothing more frustrating than spending a lot of time with buyers and than never getting paid for our efforts. The key component to successfully working with buyers is the qualifying process. FULL STORY-> Realty Reality: Common Disclaimer is Nonetheless Important "Information deemed Reliable but not Guaranteed." It's a fair bet that most people who would read this column have seen that disclaimer more times than they could count. FULL STORY-> NAHB National Green Building Program Open for Business If you are one of the record numbers of Americans voting in the 2008 presidential primaries and caucuses across the country, you have, no doubt, heard about our souring economy for the low- and middle-classes. More troubling, is Washington's inability to capitalize on American ingenuity and create new systems, processes and infrastructures that feature less consumption and more 'green.' FULL STORY-> Investor Report: Virgin Money USA and Takeback Financing Investors in challenging markets increasingly are turning to one of the "golden oldies" in the real estate problem-solving toolbox -- custom-crafted seller "takeback" financing. And in the last few months, they've gotten a whole new source of help from a globetrotting British entrepreneur. FULL STORY-> Hot Market: The Yak About Yakima, Washington Realty Viewpoint: Press Begins To Suggest It's Time To Buy A Home Market Conditions: Greenville, South Carolina U.S. Real Estate Appreciation Rates Lack Luster House Market Sees a Jump in Mortgage Rates this Week Ask Realty Times Timing Is Everything: When And How To Move Ask Dr. Real Estate: How Much Togetherness Can A Girl Take? Is Your Credit Score as High as You Think? Real Estate Outlook: Numbers Best in Months Second Homes: Luxury Housing Booms On Market Conditions: Will County, Illinois Ask Realty Times: Foreclosure vs. Auction Realty Viewpoint: Congress To Humiliate Greedy Mortgage, Banking CEOs Appealing Your Property Tax Bill Inflating Home Prices with Cash Back at Closing Real Estate Marketing Strategies: Using the Law of Attraction to Create Your Ideal Income New Sales Strategies Drive Bargains Condo Trends: Condo Living A Little Different Than Co-op Realty Viewpoint: Inflation, Consumer Sentiment Recall Stagflation of 1970s Real Estate Outlook: Economy Solid and Encouraging CURRENT MORTGAGE RATES Interest Rate Watch 30 yr fixed: 6.24% 15 yr fixed: 5.72% 1 yr adj: 5.11% (U.S. Daily Averages) LIBRARY Buyers Advice Sellers Advice Homeowners Advice Advice for New Homes Advice For Borrowers Rental Advice Homeowner Association News NAR News - Back - Paul Stillwaggon & Pat Cornish 908-561-5492, Luxury Custom New & Pre-Owned Homes E-mail: njestates@earthlink.net Web: http://www.newjerseyestates.net/ 908-561-5492 (Paul) 908-310-1358 (Cell) 908-561-6499 (Pat) 908-578-0890 (Cell) Weichert Realtors New Jersey Estates 908-561-5400 55 Stirling Road, Watchung, N.J. 07069 Equal Housing Opportunity